


Auroras

by Adeadlymusician



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles X
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chocolate, Harrier!Cross, M/M, Skells, reupload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 02:12:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11326500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adeadlymusician/pseuds/Adeadlymusician
Summary: Cross has been crushing on a certain person with green eyes and glasses. Cross wants to tell him, but after a mission with said person that involves clearing out a dangerous indigen, he changes his mind. Can Elma change Cross' mind?





	Auroras

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Pre Chapter 11. 2 affinity missions have been completed with HB. This contains spoilers for the first two affinity missions with HB as well as all chapters up to chapter 10 and Major(?) spoilers for Chapter 12 if you look close enough. Do not proceed if you do not wish to be spoiled. You have been warned.

“What’s on your mind, Cross?” Elma asked, a cup of steaming hot tea in her hand. Cross stared at his hand, literally twiddling his thumbs. Elma snapped her fingers and he looked up, shrugging. She frowned and took a sip of her tea.

“That wasn’t a request.” Cross sighed irritably. He hated when Elma acted like she had the right to snoop into his personal life. Even if said personal life consisted solely of BLADE missions with people other than Elma, Lin, and Tatsu. Cross hated socializing and Elma knew it. He stood up and walked to the fridge, staring at the unopened package of chocolate. Sighing, he shut the door and turned around only to be stopped by Elma’s hand on his shoulder.

“You know, you can tell me if something is bothering you.” She said. Her eyes bore into Cross’. He hesitated but waved his hand, signalling that he did not want to talk about it and that the conversation was over. Cross grabbed his weapons and left the barracks. Elma stared at the door when it shut. She sighed.

“When is Cross going to stop sulking and be courageous?” She asked herself, shaking her head.

 

Cross stepped into his skell ‘Gonzales’ and flew out of the city. Even when inside a skell, he felt the wind against his face. Cross breathed in deeply and exhaled. He looked at the map. When he found the location of the target, he turned northwest and headed toward the entrance to Noctilum. 

‘So, some nasty indigens are wreaking havoc and causing trouble for Xeno’s and BLADE’s alike. It is my duty as a Harrier to deal with them.’ Cross thought. After a minute of soaring through the clear night skies, Cross arrived at his destination. He saw the enemies down below him. It was a pack of Lawless Grex’s. He landed and engaged the beasts in battle. The enemies were no trouble for the experienced harrier. After the last one fell, he reported the victory to Elenora via his Comm device. Cross then took off into the skies once more.

Cross smiled when the auroras appeared above him in the night sky. He didn’t remember much about his past, but he had always felt a special connection to auroras. Brilliant displays of moving colors painted the night sky with bright glowing waves. Green, purple, orange, and yellow mixed together, creating ripples of energy and light. Cross closed his eyes and let the skell switch to autopilot. When he opened his eyes, he sighed. As much as he loved the comfort of the auroras in night sky, they reminded him of a certain someone that shines brighter than an aurora ever could. Cross replayed the same scene over and over again.

“Honestly, I just signed on for the chance to deck a pretty boy right in the kisser.” Lara Nara said.

“Oh.” That one word response brought back raw emotions that battled within his mind. It hadn’t been a rejection, per se. It was in response to Lara Nara. Of course, Lara Nara was extremely feminine, flamboyant, and at times hard to handle and understand. However, the look on that someone’s face and the tone of his response……

‘Stop thinking about it. You know it will not work out. You have a job as a BLADE and you don’t need him.’ Cross thought, trying to keep the emotions at bay. Alas, the attempt was futile. Fresh tears fell freely, racing down the contours of his cheeks. He desperately wanted to punch something, but he could not. Not while riding in a skell high above ground level. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. He let the emotions within battle themselves. Cross knew the stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. He went through the first four of these stages several times a day. However, he could never fully accept his fate. Some nagging feeling always told him that he did have a chance, but Cross always disregarded it. He took deep breaths and cleared his mind. He focused on breathing, inhaling and exhaling in four second intervals. After what seemed like hours, Gonzales arrived at the entrance to the barracks. The door opened. Cross went inside and moved Gonzales to the appropriate spot. Cross stepped out of the skell and walked to the sleeping chambers. He ignored the knowing eyes of Elma, the curious eyes of Lin, and the concerned eyes of Tatsu. 

‘Maybe one day I won’t be weighed down by myself….’ Cross thought, walking to the sleeping chambers. 

“Cross.” Elma said. He stopped and looked at her, internally cursing his luck..

“I’m tired of you moping around. As a leader, I have to make sure everyone in my team is content. If they aren’t, I have an obligation fix the problem myself or see that it becomes fixed. That’s precisely what I will do if you wait too much longer.” She said. Lin and Tatsu glanced at Elma curiously. Cross only sighed and entered the sleeping chamber. Elma groaned in frustration and hit the counter with the palm of her hand. Her hand started to sting but she took no notice of the pain.

“Elma, what’s wrong?” Lin asked, concerned. Elma gave her a reassuring smile.

“Nothing important. Cross just needs a little… encouragement.” Elma said.

“What does Drill sergeant mean? Tatsu not understand.” 

“Cross has fancied someone for a while now. He told me he would go for it, but he hasn’t yet. He won’t tell me why he changed his mind.” Elma replied. “Not that I really understand why he has so much trouble asking a simple question.”

“Is that why he be so depressed?” Tatsu asked. Elma nodded.

“Hopefully, he gains the courage to ask them out.” Lin said optimistically. Elma smiled grimly before an idea popped into her head. She pulled out her Comm device and typed in several messages to HB.

 

Cross woke up at exactly seven thirty the next morning. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood up, exited the chamber and went straight to the fridge to get something to drink. When he opened the fridge door, nothing seemed to speak to him. He decided that milk would be the best option. As he reached to get the milk, he noticed the package in the fridge. He sighed. Cross felt a hand lightly grab his shoulder. 

“You can do it.” Elma said. Cross didn’t say anything for a few moments. Millions of different thoughts raced through his mind and many different scenarios ran through his head. He shook his head. Elma glared at him and kept her eyes fixated on him, unmoving. Cross felt Elma’s frustration.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Cross said quietly, giving in. Elma eyes softened and she gave him a reassuring nod. Cross grabbed the chocolate and the milk. Elma set a glass out for him. He poured himself a glass of milk. Elma put the milk in the fridge as Cross quietly ate the breakfast Lin made for him. He finished and attempted to clean his plate off but Elma stopped him.

“Go get him. I’ll take care of this.” She whispered. “I want you to be happy.”

Cross nodded, letting Elma take the plate. He grabbed the gift and left the barracks. He headed down Armoury Alley and to the hanger pilot. Cross told the pilot that he wanted to go to the residential district. The pilot flew to the residential district and let him off. He stepped on the ground and took a deep breath, the package tightly gripped in his right hand. Cross made his way to the Cathedral parking lot. Once he got there, he looked over to his left. There he was. HB stood alone, occupied with something on FrontierNav. Cross froze and felt adrenaline rush through him. 

Cross took small, shaky steps toward HB. As the distance between them decreased, he felt his desire to run increase. He thought about making a run for it, but HB happened to look up and notice him approaching.

‘Shit.’ He thought. 

“Are you okay Cross? You look like you just saw a ghost.” HB said. Cross felt his heartbeat pound against his chest, desperately clawing to get out. HB noticed the package that Cross had clutched in his right hand. 

“Is that for me?” HB asked. Cross nodded, unable to speak. He shakily handed the package to HB. HB analyzed the gift for a moment. He carefully peeled away the packaging on the package. 

“You got me dark chocolate? How did you know that I prefer dark chocolate?” He asked, a half smile on his face.

“I’just-jus-just-I.... just guessed.” Cross said, cursing internally at his nervousness. HB grinned.

“Thank you for the gift. It is most appreciated.” HB did something Cross did not expect. He gave him a hug. Cross became flushed and tense. HB smirked at the reaction.

“Meet me here tonight at ten o’clock.” He whispered into Cross’s ear. Cross shivered. HB let go of him and smiled. Cross gave a nod in acknowledgement and walked away briskly. 

 

Cross arrived at the spot where HB asked him to be at exactly ten o’clock. He stood there nervously, waiting for HB to show up. He was already shaking from nervousness, and the cool breeze did not help him at all. The blinding lights in the sky temporarily distracted him from his nerves. He smiled, grateful for the distraction. However, doubt started to seep into his mind.

‘Why does there have to be an aurora right now? It’s not like he likes me or anything… All he is going to do is ask me to accompany him on a mission or challenge me to complete a mission before he does. The usual.’ 

“Cross.” HB said. Cross looked to his left. He was shocked because of what he saw. HB wasn’t wearing his battle armor. He was wearing casual clothes. A pair of blue jeans and a nice shirt that didn’t leave much to imagination. He did not have his glasses on which made his green eyes stand out. Cross cried internally.

‘Why must you tease me?’ He thought.

“Mira to Cross. I have something for you.” HB said. He handed Cross a small box. Cross took it and carefully removed the top. He pulled out a silver chain with a small pendant on it. It was green in color, the exact same as HB’s eyes, and in the shape of a dew drop. Cross recognized it instantly.

“A Telethia Tear..” Cross whispered. According to the Nopon, Telethia Tears were given to people (or Nopon) of great importance and, more often than not, they were given to significant others. The human equivalent would be expensive jewelry or a rare gemstone. 

“Are you… trying to tell me something?” Cross whispered. He felt hope flare up in his chest.

“I don’t know. You tell me.” HB said. Cross held the necklace in his hand and didn’t say anything for a few moments. He felt his heartbeat slow down, almost positive that he was reading the situation incorrectly. Still, his consciousness told him to be patient.

“Please don’t do this to me…” Cross said, almost inaudibly. HB was shocked to hear the raw emotion in Cross’s voice considering that he rarely spoke out loud. When he did speak aloud, it was similar in tone to an automated caller asking for money. HB weighed his options and decided that beating around the bush would not help. 

“Alright. I won’t. I know you have been, ah, in love on me for a little while. I want to say that.. well, I have been too.” HB said. Cross looked up and stared directly into HB’s eyes. HB could see that Cross was assessing him, checking to see if he was lying. Despite losing all of his memories, he was very wary of those he is not close to and often watched new people very closely, looking for any sign of deceit. 

Cross didn’t say anything. He was overwhelmed with emotion, and that was something he had not experienced in a long time. Cross pulled HB in for a hug, gripping the slightly taller one as if he was going to disappear. Once HB got over the shock of Cross’ sudden movement, he wrapped his arms around the other and placed his head on the others. The slightly smaller one shivered at the feeling of HB’s breathing on his head. His heart was racing, and Cross was certain that it would explode if it beat any faster. HB felt similarly. They both stood like that for a few minutes, letting their heart rates slow down. Once HB felt ready, he pulled away and gently grabbed the sides of Cross’ face. Cross’ face went tomato red as HB pulled him in for a kiss. He could say something cliché like ‘It felt like fireworks going off,’ or ‘It was the best thing that ever happened to him.’ Cross choose to describe it as relieving. He felt all of the pent up, negative emotions that had built up over the last few weeks disappear when HB kissed him. The kiss was short and sweet, and it left Cross begging for more. 

“So, what do you want to do from here?” HB asked. “If you don’t want our relationship to be public…”

“I want to be with you. I don’t care what other people think.” Cross said. 

“Okay then.” HB said, smiling. His face seemed to glow, and Cross couldn’t resist grinning at how adorable HB looked when he was happy. Cross’s gaze was shifted to the stars. The aurora’s seemed to shine just a little brighter. Cross pulled HB closer, wrapping his left arm around HB’s torso. Cross could feel the other's heart rate speed up. HB opened the box of chocolate, sharing it with his lover. They stood there, eating chocolate, for the rest of the night, content with watching the aurora’s with each other in a close proximity.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: BTW, I totally made up the Telethia tear thing. I needed something as a gift but I couldn’t think of anything. So I made something up XD. Here is the official Xenoblade Chronicles description: “Faintly wistful tear that brings thoughts of passion to mind.”


End file.
